Tag: courtroom

Shelf Control #64 – 28/04/2023

Happy Friday and welcome to today’s Shelf Control feature post! I’m looking forward to sharing today’s post, as I get to feature a legal thriller by an author that is well-known, but I am yet to try!

Before we get into it, let’s recap what my Shelf Control feature is all about.

Shelf Control is a regular feature – a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

The Rainmaker – John Grisham

Genre: Legal Thriller

Pages: 419

Audience: Adult

Publisher: 01 Apr 1995

Publication Date:

 

 

Goodreads – The Rainmaker

In The Rainmaker, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America — and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first “clients,” Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone’s ever seen — and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy’s flat broke, has no job, hasn’t even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys — and powerful industries — in America.

 

My Thoughts

The Rainmaker isn’t the first John Grisham book I have featured in a Shelf Control post. However, as of writing this, I am still yet to read any of his books.

I have heard a lot of good things about John Grisham as an author. In what I have already read of the legal thriller genre, this is also something I enjoy. It’s not something I read a lot of, granted. However, it is a genre that I enjoy reading as something different to the typical books I pick up!

I like the sound of The Rainmaker as the synopsis and storyline is one we can all get behind. It deals with a humanitarian subject. I’m not sure how detailed this plot explores the circumstances of Donny Ray, but I am intrigued to read about his story and circumstances all the same. You may recall that I went out of my way to read Me Before You as it features difficult themes around disability and assisted suicide.

Obviously, those are two very different things. However, I really enjoyed that the subject even made it into a book. A lot of people like to look the other way when it comes to this sort of thing, but I’m not one to shy away. What I’m trying to say is, if we get some gritty detail in The Rainmaker, I’m all for it.

Have you read The Rinmaker or any other books written by John Grisham? 

Thanks for taking the time to check out today’s Shelf Control post, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!

 

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Well, I Didn’t Know That! #2

Could AI become a one-stop-shop tool when you’re in need of legal defence?

That is the feature of today’s post as part of my new series, Well, I Didn’t Know That! and a recent article in New Scientist magazine (issue 3421, pg.10).

To stress, the scenario featured in this article is about a trial. Of the AI. Obviously there is also a legal trial – this one about a speeding ticket.

 

New Scientist – AI Will Advise a Defendant in Court

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic lately. You may have had a play with ChatGBT which has become popular recently. Or, you may have seen discussions around the inter-web about digital art, or artificial intelligence being used in ways in which it could replace human creations.

The idea of artificial intelligence being clever enough to do even more than it already does is a little bit frightening. Now, for the first time ever, artificial intelligence is being tested in a brand-new scenario – the courtroom. Normally, such technology is not permitted. You won’t find yourself defended by anyone other than a lawyer anytime soon. However, a company behind artificial intelligence has found somewhere in which a device supporting AI can be used… and is taking the opportunity to do so.

 

What’s happening?

The firm behind the artificial intelligence, DoNotPay, are trialling the use of its technology in defending against a speed ticket. The company has promised to pay any fines in the event that the AI does not succeed in its defence. In order to represent the defendant, a smart phone is being used to listen to proceedings and advise the defendant on how to respond via an ear piece.

As this case is not due to take place until next month, we won’t know how successful AI will be in this scenario. It was originally developed and trained to assist with legal issues by sticking to factual statements. In a courtroom scenario, the best course of action could be different. That is clearly why the company want to expose their artificial intelligence to this situation. It relies on data. Currently, it has no data of how to respond to this scenario. After this case, that will change.

 

What could it mean?

If we ever see artificial intelligence playing a significant role in legal issues, it is a long way off. In order to get this first trial, the company have had to search long and hard to find somewhere it would be permitted. They are able to implement the technology as a defence tool under a technicality that isn’t really in the spirit of the rules. If AI were to become mainstream, there would have to be significant changes in the law to permit it to be used.

The article in new scientist suggests that AI may instead be used to assist lawyers, rather than replace them. However, at this stage, who can say? Until we get an idea of how well it performs and if the attitude of society changes, we won’t know if it has any permanent role in the courtroom.

 

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Shelf Control #49 – 17/06/2022

Happy Friday and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post! Shelf Control is one of my regular features (typically fortnightly on a Friday)  It’s a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies and it’s all about featuring/celebrating unread books on our bookshelves! The idea is to pick a book from your TBR that haven’t read yet and write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

It has been a few weeks since I last shared a Friday feature, and I’m excited to share today’s with you. Having never read this author before, I’m really keen to jump in. I’ve heard great things and he is one of the big names in his genre.

 

The Litigators – John Grisham

Goodreads – The Litigators

The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. After twenty plus years together, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg bicker like an old married couple but somehow continue to scratch out a half-decent living from their seedy bungalow offices in southwest Chicago.

And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he’s suddenly unemployed, any job—even one with Finley & Figg—looks okay to him.

With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money.

A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom!

It almost seems too good to be true.

And it is.

The Litigators is a tremendously entertaining romp, filled with the kind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller.

 

My Thoughts…

I’m always looking forward to trying the works of a new author. Whilst I own a copy of Rogue Lawyers, I haven’t yet read any books by John Grisham. That said, I am looking forward to giving his writing a try. I have experience of enjoying courtroom thrillers in the past… and I think the premise of this particular book is interesting.

I’m confident that this is a book I am going to enjoy. The author hasn’t become a household name for no reason, and someone from work has read and enjoyed his books. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s who I got my copy of Rogue Lawyers from. Someone from Finance had a clear out (due to a lack of space, not a dislike of the book) and brought in the books so anyone who wanted them could help themselves). You can be sure I did – although I only picked up this one!

I’m hopeful that I enjoy this book, as it means that a new world opens to me in terms of the number of books I can read. John Grisham has published over 40 books (according to his own website), so I have plenty of reading material provided I get on with his writing style.

Have you read The Litigators, or any other books by John Grisham? If so, what did you think? I’d love to hear from you!

 

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